Moira
by schaenciel
Summary: Fate has put Yusei to the test as Aki got involved in a freak accident. Will he continue to struggle? Or will he just let go of the pain even if it means letting go of the one he loves? Faithshipping.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any of its characters.

**Chapter I**

"Aki…"

It was 2AM. It was dark. The only light that was present came from a row of dim light, alternately lit on the ceiling.

"…Please don't leave me…"

It was cold. Even though all of his friends were just right behind him trying to cheer him up, it felt to him as if he was alone.

"Yusei…"

He would do anything to touch her, to hold her hand and say everything would be okay. But all he could do was gaze through the glass window that separates the ICU room and the hospital corridor from where he and his friends were standing. He leaned his hands desperately against the glass with his fiery, determined eyes as if making his thoughts mentally delivered to her even though she was unconscious. He always believed that she would always hear him, no matter what the circumstances were. He could only hope. He could only pray. He could only wish that she would be alright.

Yes, that was all he could do and he hated himself for it. Yusei Fudo would always do whatever it takes to protect the ones who were close to him. But being the human that he is, he couldn't just always find himself jumping into any unsuspected events in order to save the day. He only thought of what's best of his loved ones so seeing one of them in a desperate situation such as lying on a cold hospital bed holding for his or her life could make him break inside; and to think, that someone was the one who had been closest to his heart.

He kept on gritting his teeth as he remained his position, fixing his eyes on the unconscious Aki as if he was waiting eagerly for her to open her eyes. To his regret, nothing happened. She remained lifeless, lying in a hospital bed surrounded by different life-supporting apparatuses and needles and tubes attached to her. The sight of her could make one capitulate into tears but not him. He remained strong and steady—but the question was: how long…

"Yusei…"

From time to time, Ruka would approach and ask him to take a rest but he would just smile at her and say:

"Don't mind me. I'll be fine. You and the others could go if you want. The hospital corridor isn't a very comfortable place to rest. I'll just stay here and accompany Aki for now."

It was amazing how he could compose himself not to show his despair but even though Yusei won't say it, Ruka knew what he actually felt—after all, they have been together for so long; not to mention, to be literally connected to one another. He was like a big brother to her and Rua. At that point, she didn't know what she felt—was it pity? Sympathy? Worry? She didn't know. She could already feel her tears struggling to come out but she contained herself. She he knew she must be strong right now for Yusei.

"A-alright," her voice was shaking but she continued, "Call us if you need anything, okay? Me and Rua will drop by tomorrow after school, okay?"

Again, he just smiled a neutral smile and nodded. Ruka couldn't hold back her emotions anymore and decided to walk away as she dragged her twin brother with her. Crow followed without saying anything to Yusei but it was evident in his face that he sympathizes to the inconsolable duelist and to their injured comrade. Jack, being the last to left, began to pace carrying his usual smug expression on his face. Yusei didn't mind it. He was used to Jack being like that and he didn't think of him as insensitive that way. He just remained his stand and his eyes to Aki. But before Jack could go past him, he paused; gave a light punch on Yusei's shoulder and left off. That punch said it all.

Left alone in an empty corridor, Yusei remained unmoved from where he stood. He hadn't noticed that hours had already passed since the others left. His eyes felt heavy yet he couldn't submit himself to sleep. He wanted to remain there. He wanted to keep an eye on her but his physical limitations are starting to take over him.

A nurse who apparently in charge of checking on Aki that time came. She noticed how Yusei started to felt dizzy so she approached him, hopefully to offer him some help.

"Um, sir? Are you alright?"

There was a delay in Yusei's part. It seemed as if his comprehension speed dropped but he managed to understand the question.

"U-um, yes. I'm alright," he answered back without taking his attention to the reason of his staying. The way he expressed his eyes, it was as if he was in a trance—the one he hoped that could possible take away the feeling of his physical body.

"Hmm… Why don't you go sleep for now? Don't worry. We won't let anything bad happen to her."

"No!" he exclaimed unknowingly making him and the nurse to their own shock. He then cleared his throat and explained calmly.

"I mean, no. I want to stay here… with her."

It was then the nurse figured out what was going on with him. She decided to give Yusei permission to enter the room. She said she would just explain to the doctor the situation but she specifically warned him that it was for that time only. Yusei lightened up as if his senses jolted back at him. After the nurse had done her checks, Yusei thanked her and finally entered the room.

It was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the beeping noises that the machines were producing. Yusei slowly approached her and the moment he saw her inches away from him without glasses to come between them, he suddenly broke down and kneeled beside her bed. There she was, in her devastating state, unaware of everything, sleeping soundly. He never thought it was _that _terrible. Even though the oxygen mask covered most of the lower parts of her face, he could see the wounds and bruises she got from the horrible accident. A lot were visible in her arms as well. It looked excruciating. It was though as if they were carved down in her pale, sensitive skin. Severe wounds were bandaged; especially the one wrapping her head but the blood stain clearly stated how extreme they were. The feeling of helplessness rise upon him as he bit his lip and clenched the bed cover on the side where he leaned. He fought the tears back but failed with a weak attempt and they just suddenly poured out. As much as he wanted to hold her hand and lock it with his, the sight that seemed to be a fragile glass made him not to do so. The pain he felt made him numb all over. Tears won't stop falling, thoughts won't stop scrolling in his mind, and words won't just come out from his mouth.

But in that situation, what could be said…?

He cried silently—hard but silent. After all those times he had been strong, learning to tame raging emotions, he didn't foresaw that a time that he would bury himself into deep misery would actually come. He buried his face against the bed covers in order for him not to make anymore sound, but if one would listen carefully, he could be heard saying as he cried: "…I'm sorry, Aki… I'm really sorry…."

**. . .**

Scha: This story had been in my mind for a while now. x_x I just had to write it. Please read and review. ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any of its characters.

**Chapter II**

After the events of Fortune Cup and the battle of the Signers, the life of Yusei Fudo turned out to be nothing but chain of extraordinary events. The moment he made his way out of Satellite, he knew things would eventually change for him but he did not expect the rapid dealings he went through. He did not expect, but he faced it head on.

The same could be said about the duelist's feelings towards a certain _friend._ It was kind of strange (in a pleasant way at that) when he thought about the time he and Aki Izayoi started to develop feelings for each other. He could remember how the other Signers would tease them and said how they expected for the both of them end up being together. Everyone was happy for them.

Yusei was happy too, of course. Even though he was busy doing his stuff being the Duel King and all, he would definitely find his way so he could spend time with her. Sometime after school, he would go to pick Aki up and they would spend the rest of the afternoon on either making her learn how to ride a D-wheel or just plainly talking to each other at Yusei's place whenever he needed to stay home and fix something in his garage.

One of those routine afternoons took the psychic duelist by surprise. It wasn't very much different from the other days but that day would certainly be one of her most memorable. It was the day that Yusei gave Aki her own D-wheel and having known of his capabilities when it comes to engineering and tinkering things, she was fully aware that he made it all by himself which added up to her already overwhelming happiness.

"Yusei… I… I don't know what to say," she said as laughter mixed with her words as she ran towards the deep red motorcycle and touched it from its dashboard up to its sensors. She was obviously grateful of the present she received from her lover.

"I thought I would make you one since we've been practicing riding for a while now. Take care of it okay?" he said evenly as he approached Aki and kissed her on the forehead, with her hugging him tight as a response.

"Yes, I will," she thanked cheerfully. "Hey, let's go out of Neo Domino tomorrow… I wanna see the ocean Yusei…"

"Hm? Why?" he asked in a low, calm voice.

"Well… I just want to go out of the city… and watch the sunset…" she said as she wrapped her arm around Yusei's neck. "Tomorrow will be a full moon… so it will be wonderful by night."

He smiled knowing that he made her happy because of something he did on his own, he nod in agreement and said, "Okay then."

A few hours passed and they decided to stay inside his place for a couple more. They just sat on the couch with Aki leaning her back against Yusei's chest with him, binding his arms around her waist. They just stayed that way, enjoying each other's presence.

"Aki…" he susurrated against her ear as he bended over her shoulders.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

She chuckled and turned around to look at Yusei in the eye. As she stared at his deep blue eyes, she could how sincere and compassionate he was with his words. Without any thoughts, she moved herself closer to him cupped his face with both hands and started to kiss him deeply. He tightened his grip on her waist as he responded to it. Feeling her soft lips against his, he felt like she was starting to bite his lip but before he could confirm it, she broke apart, giggled and embraced him.

"I love you too, Yusei…"

It was a solemn moment for the both of them. All he could think of was her and vice versa despite that they were already locked in each other's arms with no one to break them apart. Thinking about what they've been through ever since from the beginning, Yusei just couldn't help but feel endowed, for Aki was the one he ever wished for. He loved her so much that he'd do anything for her. Anything—just to keep her, make her happy and forget she once had a life of an outcast—the life that they both had. And to him, just seeing her; being with her takes all the pain of the past away… her love made it all go away.

And with him tightening his embrace on her, he whispered "Don't leave me, okay?"

They both moved away slightly from each other as she smiled and rested her cheeks against his palm while holding it with her hand, their eyes staring deeply into another; Roman coffee orbs meeting Persian blue. "I won't… I'll never leave you… unless you would really push me away or you told me to…"

"That will never happen…" he stated, "Never…"

**. . .**

Though everything she thought about things work out between her and Yusei were faultless, reality would bite and remind her that there's no such thing as perfection. But even so, Aki Izayoi would understand the flaw that comes with it. Her excitement died down when Yusei called her to say that their 'road trip' would be cancelled due to the fact that someone called and gave a surprise invitation for a certain duel. Having an invitation he had trouble declining, he promised that they would go the day after tomorrow and swore that he'll make sure nothing would get in the way. Realizing the situation he was in, she can somewhat sense his guilt and she didn't want to make everything difficult for him so she just said, "It's okay… there's always a next time right?"

It was an honest answer. She really did understand what Yusei had to do. After all, it was just one of the things that make his world go round. She couldn't deny that she was disappointed though. She was really looking forward on riding her D-wheel with him, to see the ocean, stargaze, and everything in between. But there was nothing she could do. By a phone call everything was postponed.

She was ready to go when he called so she just spend the following minutes leaning on her D-wheel and thought of what she could at least to thank him; not to mention to produce a reliever since she knew he'll be tired when he get home. A jolt of idea had stricken her as she came up with something that would probably make him less stressful when he got home. "If he couldn't make it to the place, I'll bring it to him…"

**. . .**

It was already midnight. Yusei was growing restless since he couldn't reach Aki since he got home. He kept on calling on her phone but she won't answer. He thought of everything that might have happened: like she left her phone, she was busy, or she went out but he was starting to get really worried and his thoughts are growing worse. He called everyone—Jack, Crow, the twins, Carly—everyone. But none of them saw nor talked to her for the past day. His fear of something bad might have happened grew stronger but Jack told him that he should calm down; that Aki might be just busy about something and doesn't want to be disturbed and will probably call him first thing in the morning. With Jack saying it full of confidence, Yusei couldn't help but just believe in him. The feeling of uneasiness kept on haunting him though, but the best thing for him to do was to trust Jack's words. What could have happened to her?

The following morning, Yusei decided to get up earlier than usual since he couldn't sleep properly at all. The first thing he did was to check his phone but to his disappointment, there were no calls. He couldn't contain himself much longer and his worries were killing him so he finally decided to go to her place.

"Aki…?" he knocked at her door. He waited for a couple of minutes but no one came to open the door. He kept on knocking; calling her but still there's none. His eyebrows crossed as he crossed his arms as well. "I wonder where she went…"

Amidst of his thoughts, a low beeping sound coming from his pocket interrupted his thinking. He pulled it out right away and answered it hoping it would be his beloved but he was surprised to hear Jack's strong voice.

"Jack..? What is it?"

"Yusei… the security called me…"

"Security? And? Why are you telling me that?"

"Yusei… it's Aki…"

Yusei paused. To him, Jack's words started to become some sort of puzzle pieces for him to figure out. He had an idea on where the conversation was going but his inner self wouldn't let him conclude in to something uncertain. His heart began to race as he asked him what happened.

"W-what about her…?"

"Well… they found her down the cliff side… with a D-wheel… apparently it was an accident…"

Yusei's world seemed to freeze as he heard those words which to him, appeared to be unreal. His hands, actually his whole body kept on shaking as emotions in him mixed and his mind went blank. He doesn't want to hear any more of it yet he wanted more details. He wanted to run to his D-wheel and get to Jack's place as fast as he could but his feet just won't let him.

"Yusei? Yusei!"

Jack's yell snapped Yusei back but before he could say anything, a tear suddenly dropped from his eye. Trying to cover up his shaking voice, he still asked him, "W-what…w-where is she…?"

"She was immediately rushed to the hospital. Let's meet there. I know you're devastated. We all do. But try to calm down for now. We still don't know what her current condition is right now."

Still shaking like a leaf, Yusei hung up as he paced towards his motorcycle. In a matter of seconds, he turned pale, silent and expressionless. He wasn't sure whether to see her or not. He kept on convincing himself that Jack was just joking around and probably got the wrong person. But why would he do that? As of the moment, all he could do was to follow what he was told.

**. . .**

"_God wake me up… please tell me this isn't real…"_

_**. . .**_

Scha: Err... sorry if this chapter has less dialogue. XD It was supposed to be a flashback/summary of what happened. There were more past events to be revealed in the following chapters. Anyway, please R&R.

Btw, I want to thank those people who reviewed my chapter 1. I was happy that people commented on my work and cited my faults. I don't know if I actually got better or anything but I'm really grateful. I'll try my best on doing this. ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any of its characters.

**Chapter III**

"So… how is she?"

"Still sleeping…"

"I see…"

It has been almost a week since Aki's lifeless body was moved to a normal hospital room from the ICU. The doctor said that her body had already gained stability but the current sight of her couldn't convince Yusei and the others that she's far from critical. After all, she hasn't woke up since then; not to mention life supporting tools are still attached to her so no one could actually tell nor describe her true condition.

Being wanted to be the first one to be there when she opened her eyes, Yusei never left Aki's side. Black bags started to form under his worn out eyes with his shoulders remained completely lifeless indicating that hadn't slept properly for days. Everyone would visit to have a check on the both of them from time to time. Ruka would advise Yusei to go home and rest since he was growing pale but he insisted on staying. Even Jack couldn't convince him. He even told him (in his usual 'bossy' manner) that they don't need two patients for them to look after but despite the effort, no one could simply get through his iron will.

One morning, Yusei woke up from a one-hour sleep realizing no one's in the room yet. The usual pain the back he was constantly getting seemed to be a normal thing for him seeing that it has been days since he last slept with his whole back lying flat on a bed. He didn't mind though. He wanted to be by her side and he would always think that the pain he felt in his body were nothing in comparison to the pain that she felt from the accident.

Accident… Yusei still kept on blaming himself from what happened. When they first got into the hospital all he could think of was how he wasn't able to be with her, unable to protect her. Undeterred by the event that was uncalled for, he just couldn't stop blaming himself about something that he couldn't help but be guilty of-- something that he couldn't help but feel the dreadful feeling until the present. Every time he gaze down on the still bruised, unconscious Aki, his body would just involuntary shake as he locked his hands with hers and kept on apologizing.

"Please wake up… I'm here. I won't leave you ever again..." he whispered calmly against their united hands as he kissed her knuckle.

They stayed like that for a while and minutes after, someone knocked at the door. Yusei leaned back to see who it was. Well, as usual, it was Crow with Rua and Ruka and they had brought breakfast for Yusei. It started to become a routine for them. They've been eating breakfast; lunch or dinner with him alternately since they figure out that they couldn't do anything about his stubbornness anymore. He was thankful though.

"So, any progress?" Crow asked casually as he took a bite from his pancake that each of them were currently having.

Yusei shook his head. "None. I wish she would open her eyes soon…" he said as he stared down at her with his unusual cold gaze.

Ruka getting worried all over again tried to cheer him up. "She'll be fine. Aki is strong. She won't give up that easily."

"Yeah! She'll be up in no time!" Rua added.

He smiled at the twins for the effort of making him feel better. "Don't worry. I'm alright. Though I may not seem to look like I am…" he excused, pointing out the reason of 'lack of sleep' as the reason of him being ghastly.

"That is why—," Crow stood up and pushed Yusei's back into Aki's bedside, "—you should sleep."

Ruka giggled, "Yeah. We don't want Aki to see you like that when she wakes up."

"Haha. Nice one, Ruka. Anyway Yusei, sleep for now. Stop worrying. It won't help any of us, including Aki if you got yourself sick. Now rest before I get the nurse to put on tranquilizer on you."

"Uhh…" Yusei tried to protest but the sheer attempt of doing so was immediately put in vain. For the first time in days, he followed his friends' orders—mainly because his body was agreeing to it.

Minutes after, he fell asleep. The three decided to leave for the time being since the twins needed to go to school and Crow has a job to do delivering stuff. Once again, they were both left alone in the white, quiet hospital room but this time, both of them resting for recovery.

**. . .**

From a slight movement he felt on his side, Yusei suddenly woke up for another one-hour of sleep that seemed to him like a span of a whole day. He hurriedly checked the bed to see if the movement was made by Aki. He stared at her for a moment, examining whether somewhere in her actually moved but there wasn't any movement. He sighed a heavy sigh and held her hand like he used to but to his surprise, it twitched. At that moment, he was surprised _and_ certain that she moved. Even though it was just a twitch of a finger, he felt happy for the first time that week.

"Aki…! Aki, c-can you hear me?"

Muscles from her lower lip started to move; probably responding to his call. The difficulty of movement, even to the slightest one was noticeable from the way she's getting the feel of her body once again. It was like she was coated in cement trying to break free. He gave her time. As much as he wanted to embrace her, to kiss her; he let her feel herself for the moment, one part at a time. He could hear her heavy breathing but he was glad knowing that life came back to her. She started to open her eyes. They seemed to be heavy since she took a lot of time lifting her lids. They were half-opened but he could already see her brown orbs moving, scanning the plain white ceiling above them.

"Aki… can you hear me? Can you see me?" he asked again hoping she really does.

For a long pause, she fixed her eyes at Yusei without moving her head. Most of her body was still numb but she could hear and see him even though her vision wasn't really that clear.

He waited for an answer as she stared at him like a pale, wounded, bruised mannequin. He held her hand and moments later, he could hear her trying to make up a sound—as if she wanted to say something.

"Huuuuuuhhhhhhh…."

Heavy air came out from her mouth as she gazed coldly at him unable to move anything. She couldn't even move most of her facial muscles to make up an expression.

"What is it…?" Yusei asked with a confused tone. He tried moving closer to her but avoided leaning on her since other parts of her body still possesses fresh wounds.

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…."

"Huuh…?" he repeated what she seemed to have said trying to figure out the word she was trying to say. He looked again at her but this time, her eyebrows started to shake as tears began to form in her eyes.

"A-Aki! What's wrong? What do you feel?" he asked alarmingly as he slightly lifted an inch from her.

Still trying to make up what she was trying to say, he heard something before he could move closer to her once again.

"W-who---"

The word took Yusei by surprise—not to mention confused.

"What do you mean? Can't you… see me?"

"W-w-whoo---," she asked desperately again as the tears in her eyes increased volume and started to trace down her white, damaged face.

Everything seemed to had stopped for Yusei. He couldn't react to what she just said. He suddenly thought to himself, _"Couldn't be… that she… had… forgotten me?"_

He stared at her once more as her face clearly told him that she was afraid of him-- afraid that she woke up seeing a complete _stranger _beside her as she finally felt the sting of the wounds that dominated her whole body.

**. . .**

Scha: I really wanted to continue but a part of me is saying that the rest should be in the next chapter. XD

Eep! Thanks so much for the encouraging reviews from my previous chapter. Etto, I was so surprised to see a review from Kelisidina. Waa. XD She was like my idol. XD I'm a total fan of her fics. XD


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any of its characters.

**Chapter IV**

_Before, I never considered my memories as something worthy to look back to. They brought me so much pain and hatred to the point that I closed my heart for everything else. But you changed that. You made me realize that memories are important. No matter how painful they were to remember, they would always mean something else other than the feeling of hurt. They were there to make us realize our mistakes… and to make us strong. That's why… I want to make a lot of memories with you, Yusei. And this time I won't be afraid to look back anymore because when I do… I'll see you._

**. . .**

Right after Aki woke up; Yusei had called the doctor to have a check on her. He was sent outside of the room for a moment so they could examine her. At that time, Jack accompanied by Carly arrived to check on them. Yusei explained to the two what happened as they all waited outside the hospital room where Aki was in. Minutes after, the doctor came out and requested them to follow in his office for further explanations.

"Post-traumatic Amnesia. Basically due to her bad fall."

The doctor's statement gave the three of them a shock.

"In all truth, Mr. Fudo, we have anticipated this kind of scenario since a huge part of her nervous system was damaged—including some parts of her brain but we decided to keep an uncertain matter classified in order to avoid unnecessary conclusions… especially coming from all of you."

Yusei, Jack and Carly remained quiet for a moment searching for words to say. But basing from the terrible news the doctor had just said, words couldn't describe their gloom. In the middle of their quietness, Yusei stood up making the two turn their heads to him. He did not say anything as he slowly walked towards the door and left the office.

Although he doesn't show it, Yusei felt terrible from what he had heard. His mind absently turned into chaos as he walked down the corridor back to Aki's room. As he did, memories with her flashed back at him all at once—the happy, the painful, and the beautiful; they all played like a fast forwarded motion picture. It was clear at first but as it goes, it started to become vague-- like a messed up image up to the point that he couldn't make up some of it anymore. He didn't know what to do. The mixture of grief and his weakened body made him want to submit into tears but he just couldn't.

"_She had forgotten…"_

He kept on walking but the corridor appeared to be endless. His steps were getting heavier by the second as his vision started to blur. He was about to reach for the doorknob when his vision completely faded into black. His body crashed against the door in an instant making a loud bang and sooner after that, his knees folded as his whole figure slowly glided towards the floor.

He had collapsed.

**. . .**

_Remember the time at the Fortune Cup? That time… I knew right away that you were the one who could save me. And you did. You never fail to help everyone around you. You always do your best just to protect everyone, Yusei. Sometimes I think, what could possibly make you give up. Haha! What am I thinking…. I don't think there would be such a thing…_

"A-Aki…"

Diluted, Yusei woke up in a familiar place. Even though his vision was blurry, he could tell that he's not in the hospital anymore. The thought of it made him jump from his bed despite that his body was in no condition to move around like he used to. He looked around but no one was in the room. He suddenly recalled the doctor, the corridor and how he fainted… and Aki…Who was there to watch over her? With that thought in mind, Yusei reached out for his dark blue jacket and hurried towards the door. Once out of the room, he was surprised to see the twins with Jack sitting in the couch in the middle of a wide space—all their heads turned to him the moment he opened the door.

Ruka noticed how Yusei looked like he was about to leave so she rushed towards him and blocked his way.

"No, Yusei. You can't go yet!"

His brows narrowed as he gazed down on Ruka straight to her determined, Luxor gold eyes.

"Ruka…"

"Yeah, Yusei," Rua backed-up, "you should rest. Your body can't take it anymore."

Yusei remained quiet. He knew that they were right; but what about _her_?

His resolution was much stronger. Despite what his body and the twins had told him to do, he just walked past them and continued on heading towards the door.

"So you wouldn't care about what we say to you now huh, Yusei?"

Jack's statement made him pause as he was about to leave. He turned around meeting the blonde's eye in perfect contact and seeing how it showed displeasure, it was then he knew he had to say something.

"I just have to go. I couldn't leave her alone in there."

Jack didn't say a word. He just stood up from his seat and walked towards Yusei in a slow pace and then he began to speak.

"After you left, the doctor said they would continue monitoring Izayoi. They knew her condition was critical and unpredictable. He even said that she might actually die anytime."

Yusei gritted his teeth as his face displayed a mixture of anger and confusion. Why was he telling him _that_?

"You really think that by going to her with that kind of attitude and state would really help her?" said Jack slightly raising his tone.

"You don't know anything," whispered to himself, containing all whatever's been boiling within him the moment Jack opened his mouth. It grew more intense as the blonde continued with his words.

"You think she's alone-- that she is the one who is need of you. But the truth is that _you_ are the one who needs her!"

"—Yes, I need her!" said Yusei completely lost his cool, fuming at Jack. "You don't know anythi—"

But before he could finish his sentence, a strong, hard knuckle quickly landed on his face. A punch; a physically powerful punch coming from Jack Atlas made him crash on the floor giving Rua and Ruka an equal form of shock.

But Jack wasn't finished yet. He picked up Yusei by the collar and pulled him close enough for him to shout at his face. His fist was shaking in anger as his electric violet eyes narrowed, directly beaming at the torn duelist "You--! You are not Yusei!" Jack roared, "I know exactly you always want to help people out…! Especially Izayoi! But not this way!"

Being thrown down, meeting the floor once again, Yusei didn't utter a word as Jack turned his back, walking away from him. But before he could exit the room to the balcony, he heard him saying, "Help yourself first."

He could feel his insides shaking, his tears ready to explode from his eyes but he held them back as much as he could while anger filled most of his system, ingesting every word that Jack have said.

Ruka, followed by Rua approached him.

"Yusei…"

Still looking down with his hair covering his eyes, Yusei did not respond to her call. The twins could completely feel what exactly what was going on with him, especially that Jack had somewhat knocked some sense to him—literally.

Without having any thoughts, Ruka slowly put her arms around Yusei giving him a warm embrace.

"Yusei… please don't think that you're alone. We're here. You always have your friends. And please don't think we don't care about Aki-san. We're just as worried as you are… You are not alone in this feeling…"

He didn't react on what she had said but at that moment, for the first time since the accident, he somewhat felt secured. He thought that maybe Jack was right. It wasn't like him to forget that his friends are always there for him—no matter what may occur. His mind was so clouded by what happened to Aki, he realized that he lost focus. He realized that it wasn't about him; it was about Aki—on what she was going through. How she need him in her time of need, his control and understanding over the situation… and his strength. But as long as he's falling apart, he couldn't possibly help her. It just had to stop.

Ruka let go of him as he started to move, preparing to stand up. He did not say a word to the both of them but he left a faint smile before he turned around and left as if saying that he'll be fine.

**. . .**

Scha: I hope I didn't mess everything up T_T Okay. First, sorries for taking this chapter so long. I recently got employed and I'm still adjusting myself as a working...person lol. Hell. It was hell. ;_; I seriously hope I'll learn to get used to it. I'm working on the next chapter already (since it was meant for it to be in this chapter but decided to chop it off lol) so next update wont take that long... well I hope. Thanks for reading. :)


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